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On Understanding Buddhists
Carter unfolds the cumulative traditions of Theravāda Buddhism by showing how one "looks at the world through Buddhist eyes." Presenting evidence from the Buddhist heritage in Sri Lanka, he develops a disciplined, inclusive approach to understanding notions of ethical living and "faith," or how individuals live life religiously. The author examines Buddhism as a worldview, reviewing the process of its origins and the development of its important concepts such as the pursuit of dhamma by Buddhists; the "Four Noble Truths;" the notion of refuge and the process of transcending; the role of the Buddhist monk (bhikkhu); and the role of music in ritual chant and song.
On Living Life Well
Bringing together talks by internationally known Buddhist scholars, this collection presents complex Buddhist insights about living a freer life through the principles of the Noble Eightfold Path. Set in the context of Sri Lankan culture, topics include psychological well-being, the basis for ethical living, discerning meaning in this life, and the centrality of meditation. Also featured are ways to respond constructively to global human foibles and explanations of ancient religious practices still current today.
Dhammapada
A translation of the ancient Buddhist scripture, traditionally ascribed to the Buddha himself, outlining the way to enlightenment and freedom from suffering.
In the Company of Friends
In this work of Buddhist-Christian reflection, John Ross Carter explores two basic aspects of human religiousness: faith and the activity of understanding. Carter's perspective is unique, putting people and their experiences at the center of inquiry into religiousness. His model and method grows out of friendship, challenging the so-called objective approach to the study of religion that privileges patterns, concepts, and abstraction.
Rgvedic Society
It is generally supposed that the Vedic tradition emerged from certain Brahmanic circles of poets, priests and theoreticians who depended economically very much on a kind of pastoral aristocracy. As against this point of view the book maintains the theory that the Vedic tradition was mainly connected with the warrior world, in particular with certain groups of seers that surrounded the warrior chiefs called sûris and strongly opposed the pastoral aristocracy and their priesthood. What emerges from this approach is that the Vedic tradition, in spite of its apparent unity of themes, images and even sentences, is not a tradition based on consensus or on a harmonious development of thought from one end to the other, but rather a tradition that reveals a troubled background, a background of passionate rivalries. The book reconsiders the debate surrounding the antagonistic ideologies of pastoral and agricultural peoples and represents a new contribution to the discussion about similarities and differences between the Iranian and the Indo-Aryan cultures.
Growth and Guilt
The relentless exploitation of the earth's resources and technologys boundless growth are a matter of urgent concern. When did this race towards the limitless begin? The Greeks, who shaped the basis of Western thinking, lived in mortal fear of humanity's hidden hunger for the infinite and referred to it as hubris, the one true sin in their moral code. Whoever desired or possessed too much was implacably punished by nemesis, yet the Greeks themselves were to pioneer an unprecedented level of ambition that began to reverse that tabu. If it is true that no culture can truly repudiate its origins, and that gods who are no longer potent can vanish but still leave behind a body of myth which coninues to live and assert itself in modernized garb, then our concern with the limits of growth reflects something more than an awareness of new technological problems - it also brings to light a psychic wound a a feeling of guilt which are infinitely more ancient.
Buddhist and Christian?
"This is a detailed exploration of Buddhist Christian dual belonging, engaging - from both Buddhist and Christian perspectives - the questions that arise, and drawing on extensive interviews with well-known individuals in the vanguard of this important and growing phenomenon. The issue is pressing insofar the last century has witnessed a gradual but profound transformation of the West's religious landscape. In today's context of diversity, people are often influenced by more than one religion. Multireligious identities are consequently on the rise. At one end of the spectrum are those who identify themselves as fully belonging to more than one tradition. One of the most prevalent combination...
Just This Is It
Teachings on the practice of things-as-they-are, through commentaries on a legendary Chinese Zen figure. The joy of “suchness”—the ultimate and true nature inherent in all appearance—shines through the teachings attributed to Dongshan Liangjie (807–869), the legendary founder of the Caodong lineage of Chan Buddhism (the predecessor of Soto Zen). Taigen Dan Leighton looks at the teachings attributed to Dongshan—in his Recorded Sayings and in the numerous koans in which he is featured as a character—to reveal the subtlety and depth of the teaching on the nature of reality that Dongshan expresses. Included are an analysis of the well-known teaching poem “Jewel Mirror Samadhi,” and of the understanding of particular and universal expressed in the teaching of the Five Degrees. “The teachings embedded in the stories about Dongshan provide a rich legacy that has been sustained in practice traditions,” says Taigen. “Dongshan’s subtle teachings about engagement with suchness remain vital today for Zen people and are available for all those who wish to find meaning amid the challenges to modern lives.”
Religious Narratives in Contemporary Culture
Religious Narratives in Contemporary Culture: Between Cultural Memory and Transmediality analyzes the presence and function of traces of religious narratives in contemporary western culture, from the perspective of cultural memory studies and the transmedial study of narrative and art.
A Spirituality of Ageing
Sometime around the age of fifty--or as early as forty and as late as sixty--most of us come to terms with our age. We recognize that we have lived out at least half of the time allotted to us, and that the second half may be shorter than the first! Coming to terms with our age is a process, one that usually involves denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. As we progresses through these stages, a spirituality of aging emerges. In this book, the reader is led on a quest to explore his or her own personal spirituality of aging. All the equipment--words of wisdom from the literature of the world's religions--has been gathered here. Each of the book's thirty-two exercises invites readers to reflect on a passage taken from the sacred literature of a world religion, then explore each passage for its meanings and applications through a meditative journaling question and a short prayer. While delving into the universal process of aging, the reader will be guided to discover his or her personal spirituality of aging.
